1156
Hogen rebellion in Japan
A succession quarrel between Retired Emperor Sutoku and his brother exploded into street fighting in Kyoto. Warrior clans the court had always kept at arm's length, especially the Taira and Minamoto, became indispensable to either side. The imperial government would never again function without them. The rebellion marked the moment when military power passed irrevocably from the aristocratic court to the warrior houses that would govern Japan for the next seven centuries.
Seljuk Sultan Sanjar dies in exile
The last great ruler of the Seljuks of the east, who had been captured by Oghuz nomads for three years and watched his beloved Merv plundered, died of despair at seventy-one. His death ended effective Seljuk rule in Khurasan; the eastern provinces dissolved into warring emirates. The Seljuk empire's collapse left a power vacuum in Central Asia that successive Khwarazmian, Qara Khitai, and eventually Mongol conquerors would rush to fill.
Privilegium Minus elevates Austria
Barbarossa ended a long Bavarian-Austrian quarrel by detaching Austria from Bavaria and raising it to a duchy whose ruler could inherit in the female line. The obscure dynastic tweak created a new political unit that would matter for the next seven hundred years. The privilege also granted Austria's duke the extraordinary right to hold his fief without attending imperial diets, a concession that made the duchy uniquely autonomous within the empire.
Almohad fleet dominates the western Mediterranean
The Almohad caliph Abd al-Mu'min launched an ambitious naval building program at the Atlantic ports of Salé and Ceuta that produced a war fleet capable of challenging the Normans, Genoese, and Pisans for supremacy in the western Mediterranean. For a generation, Almohad warships controlled the Strait of Gibraltar and raided the exposed coasts of southern Iberia and the Balearic Islands with near impunity.
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 1156?
Saeculum lists 4 curated events from 1156. The most significant is Hogen rebellion in Japan: A succession quarrel between Retired Emperor Sutoku and his brother exploded into street fighting in Kyoto.
What era was 1156 part of?
1156 falls within the High Middle Ages (1000-1300). Crusades, cathedrals, and the slow waking of Europe.
Which regions saw notable events in 1156?
The curated events from 1156 span East Asia, Central Asia, Europe and Africa.